Latest Posts

News: Gundam Extreme Versus 2 Initial Roster And Location Tests AnnouncedNews: Gundam Extreme Versus 2 Initial Roster And Location... As the rest of the world has Gundam Versus on the PS4, Japanese arcades are gearing up for the upcoming Gundam Versus Extreme 2. On May 12 and 13, stores in Tokyo and Osaka...

Read More

News: God Gundam and Master Gundam DLC Coming To Gundam Versus In JanuaryNews: God Gundam and Master Gundam DLC Coming To Gundam... It's been a long time coming, but God Gundam and Master Gundam are finally joining the Gundam Versus roster as the next DLC units in January. While we've had several melee...

Read More

News: Aegis Gundam, GM Sniper II White Dingo Ver. and More Coming To Gundam Versus This DecemberNews: Aegis Gundam, GM Sniper II White Dingo Ver. and... This December, even more suits are being added to the ever growing Gundam Versus lineup. The first is Aegis Gundam, last seen in Gundam SEED Destiny: Rengou VS ZAFT II Plus...

Read More

News: Atlas Gundam DLC Coming To Gundam VersusNews: Atlas Gundam DLC Coming To Gundam Versus If you were hoping for more Gundam Thunderbolt units, there's good news! Atlas Gundam will be joining the Gundam Versus roster as DLC in late November. This will more than...

Read More

News: Gundam Versus To Add Phantom Gundam As DLC UnitNews: Gundam Versus To Add Phantom Gundam As DLC Unit As we await the upcoming Western release of Gundam Versus on September 29 on top of unreleased units such as Pale Rider and Gundam Guison Rebake, Phantom Gundam has been...

Read More

News: Armored Core V’s Inexplicably Abominable DLC Preview

Posted on : 16-01-2012 | By : | In : News

Hardware: ,

12

Famitsu has a preview of Armored Core V’s downloadable content, and it is not for the faint of heart. It appears there will be both regular DLC and a cross-promotion deal for the official strategy guide, which will net you some nice looking parts. The community is likely to be divided over the issue of DLC if the DLC-only parts convey a clear competitive advantage to the purchasers, and given Armored Core V’s multiplayer focus this is especially problematic. But we can also say that paid DLC might encourage From Software to continue supporting their product through updates, as Relic Entertainment has done, with the sale of DLC being used to fund entirely new features for all players.

What is somehow more worrying (horrifying, really) is what seems to be purely cosmetic DLC in the form of new pilots. It seems that under certain circumstances (such as when your AC has been knocked out, but your team is still in the fight?) you’ll be able to traverse the battlefield as your pilot, since human models running around in a mecha game has always gone over well. Being able to see human beings in Last Raven was a great change of pace, since it gave you a proper perspective on the sheer scale of the ACs, but the three pilots they’re showing to sell us on this idea aren’t what I would have expected. The first is a woman in a pink jumpsuit and overly large jetpack, and while bright pink doesn’t seem to fit my idea of a bleak and perpetual war for resources, in a wonderful show of constraint, she’s not in a miniskirt nor a bra, and there’s a good ratio of jetpack-to-woman, so it’s a Net Good. Next, we have a ninja flying around in the clutches of a giant raven. In a world exclusive, Mecha Damashii can reveal that Armored Core V will explain how the Raven’s Nest began as a school for ninjas with a talent for falconry. And then we have a giant skeleton with akimbo Uzis lazily soldered onto this 3D model. In case you did not realize that he was, in fact, a skeleton, he conveniently has two giant flaming skulls located next to his shoulders to reinforce the point home. Another world exclusive: the dead will rise from their graves to play Armored Core V.

While I see no problem in allowing other people to customize their own experience as they wish, an integral part of the appeal of Armored Core has always been its dark narrative of a future society which has lost itself to the commercialization of war. If ninjas riding on giant birds and skeletons from heavy metal album covers are buzzing around in my character’s campaign to express his identity as a merc-for-hire, I’d better brush up on my Dadaism before the game’s American release on March 20th.

Americans who preorder from GameStop will also be in on the DLC game, with the ominously capitalized “HEAVY ASSAULT PACK”. Who knows what horrors From Software will choose to include? Yesterday, I thought that weapons from the excellently absurd Metal Wolf Chaos or Solaire of Astora’s armor from Dark Souls was asking too much of the strait-laced Armored Core series. But today, we live in a world where anything–everything–is possible. A giant, ambulatory hot dog bun named ‘Herbert’ for your wingman could be a part of the “HEAVY ASSAULT PACK”. Can we, as a society, take that chance? Will you master the HEAVY ASSAULT PACK–or will it master you?

Facebooktwitterredditpinterest

News: Gundam Extreme Versus Third DLC

Posted on : 14-01-2012 | By : | In : News, Videos

Hardware:

1

The third batch of DLC for Gundam Extreme Versus has been updated over at the official site. The new suits featured are the MSN-02 Zeong and the ZGMF-X10A Freedom Gundam at 500 yen a piece. In addition to this are the additional missions, as per the other updates (these are found in the “Extra” section in the Trial Missions menu in case you were wondering). One big difference about this new set of DLC is that as a thank you for the game’s good sales the Hi-Nu Gundam will now be available for free. This was originally a pre-order bonus unit but now the slow pokes can enjoy the suitably uber mobile suit too. All of these updates will occur on the 26th January.

Update: 4Gamer has a nice set of screenshots for the forthcoming DLC too.

Spoiler

[flash http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cuHarADMfkY]

[collapse]
Facebooktwitterredditpinterest

News: Gundam Seed Battle Destiny Update

Posted on : 14-01-2012 | By : | In : News

Hardware:

4

4Gamer has a new update regarding the forthcoming Gundam Seed Battle Destiny for the PS Vita. Naturally, this will be part of the long running Gundam Battle series so for those familiar with the games Artdink are promising more of (roughly) the same. Nothing new in terms of the information about the game over the intro piece in Famitsu but there are more and larger screenshots of the game. It’s planned release will be sometime in Spring this year.

Facebooktwitterredditpinterest

Toys: threeA’s Metal Gear Rex Is Almost Here

Posted on : 13-01-2012 | By : | In : Toys/Kits

Hardware: , ,

2

Those who follows the creator of Metal Gear’s Twitter feed (his main Japanese one, not the English language version) is well aware of his affinity for taking and sharing iPhone pics. And earlier morning, instead of his latest meal like usual, Hideo Kojima chose to highlight what appears to be a completed (or nearly so) version of threeA’s mammoth rendition of Rex.

In addition to being able to admire the product’s finish, one can fully comprehend its ginormous size, mostly via the pictures featuring Yoji Shinkawa, like a proud father holding up his newborn child. But the most noteworthy image is the close up of its left leg.

As Kojima notes in the accompanying tweet, it (along with the detachable rail gun) is designed to give Rex the same beat-up appearance he sports in Metal Gear Solid 4. I almost fainted when I saw the image, no joke. As for when it’ll be available, later this month is apparently the answer. But no word yet on the final price.

Facebooktwitterredditpinterest

News: Armored Core V Demo and Final Live Stream Announced

Posted on : 11-01-2012 | By : | In : News

Hardware: ,

2

From Software have announced that there will be a demo for Armored Core V (on both PS3 and 360) available on January 21st, briefly featuring online play (from the 21st and 22nd) and then reverting back to singleplayer only after that. Prior to the demo though will be the final livestream for the game. Called the Last Bullet it will supposedly cover off the final loose ends about the game before its imminent release on the 26th. It’s been a long wait but we’re almost there, just a few weeks more people!

Facebooktwitterredditpinterest

News: Gundam Extreme Versus Sells Half A Million

Posted on : 11-01-2012 | By : | In : News

Hardware:

4

Since its release in Japan on December 1st, Gundam Extreme Versus has sold over half a million units. What’s interesting about this is that Japan basically shuts down for a week over the New Year, so these sales figures occurred in spite of that. As we saw in the arcades, it has garnered a very large and loyal following. If anything the two versions, console and arcade, have mutually aided one another it seems. The console version’s DLC will also factor into the success of Full Boost, as many of the new units will be appearing in that too. So there’s already some cross promotion going on. Talking of DLC, we’ve been playing around with PMX-003 The O and it’s nice to see the PMX-001 Palace Athene (pictured above) again. In any case, we’re glad to see the game doing well.

Facebooktwitterredditpinterest

News: Lord of Elemental II Updates and Release

Posted on : 10-01-2012 | By : | In : News

Hardware:

0

We’re now but a few days away from the release of Lord of Elemental II: Revelation of Evil God. There have also been a few recent updates over at 4Gamer too, showing that the intermission screens will have characters talking to you (which is nice) and the ability to rank up your upgrades for your weapons. The latter basically seems to work after you’ve maxed out an attack, so you can make it even more uber. More importantly the game is release this Thursday and you can buy it here. Don’t forget that you can also get the boxset, also sold here, that features the first Lord of Elemental game too.

Facebooktwitterredditpinterest

Toys: Robot Damashii Nu Gundam Previewed

Posted on : 10-01-2012 | By : | In : Toys/Kits

0

One of the classic Yutaka Izubuchi Gundam designs is finally getting the Robot Damashii treatment. That of the suitably majestic RX-93 Nu Gundam from Char’s Counterattack. To list the number of games and systems this mecha has appeared in would be a bit silly, as it’s basically been in pretty much everything. Like the RX-78-2 before it, the Nu Gundam is as iconic as it marks the closing chapter of Amuro and Char’s conflict and it is one of the few Federation mobile suits to employ Newtype controlled funnels. Anyway, we’re big fans of the design and normally, when it comes to Bandai’s business, the Hi-Nu Gundam normally follows suit (as the two designs share a similar base, of sorts). We’re putting money that the eventual Hi-Nu Gundam toy will be an online only purchase though, through Bandai’s premium online store. Anyway, the toy is out in April and you can pre-order it here.

Facebooktwitterredditpinterest

News: Turn A Gundam Western Release Cancelled

Posted on : 04-01-2012 | By : | In : News, Videos

19

Welcoming in the new year, Bandai Entertainment in the US let this drop on our doorstep. Followed by a pretty insightful interview, what’s effectively happened is that we are no longer getting a Western release for the rather special Turn A Gundam. If you remember, this was something we were pretty happy about when it was announced way back in 2010. The fact that Bandai Entertainment is effectively pulling out of selling and distributing anime outside of Japan is definitely a hammer blow for people who enjoy the medium abroad though and Turn A Gundam is just a deeply unfortunate casualty of that.

Spoiler

[flash http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_FPMNnYuoiw]

[flash http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ffDzhEWKvQA]

[collapse]
Facebooktwitterredditpinterest

News: Gundam Extreme Versus Second DLC

Posted on : 01-01-2012 | By : | In : News, Videos

Hardware:

6

The second batch of DLC for Gundam Extreme Versus has been updated over at the official site. Featuring both the ZMT-S33S Gottrlatan and the PMX-003 The O (picture above). Each mobile suit will cost 500 yen each but the additional trial missions will be free to download, as per the first pack. We’ve been playing the game quite extensively in the arcades in Japan as well and we can vouch for the fact that the PS3 “port” is pretty much identical in every way (especially if you have a good arcade stick to hand). Admittedly the arcade version allows you to pimp your HUD out as well as other similarly superficial customisations, but the game itself looks and plays the same. It’s thanks to this that we’ve had a pretty long win streak, as our skills developed at home have been entirely applicable in the arcades here. Naturally, our favoured ride of choice is the XM-X1 (F97) Crossbone Gundam X-1 Kai, as mecha with capes are just plain awesome.

Spoiler

[flash http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aHZ-wbMbr0M]

[collapse]
Facebooktwitterredditpinterest